Punctuation

Writing Tip 50: The spelling of “y’all”

The Blue Ridge Mountains, Y'all — Everyone has their version of the South. Here’s mine. Wow, do I miss the mountains this time of year.

When people misspell the contraction “y’all,” I can’t help but cringe. Sure, it may be the same way others cringe upon hearing the southern colloquialism, but I can’t help it. It’s not a creation of an invented dialect. It’s a contraction, people. A contraction. As in one word that combines two others.

Is not –> Isn’t
They will –> They’ll
I have–> I’ve
It is –> ‘tis (Yes, I’m a Shakespeare fan too)
You all –> Y’all

What is with this “ya’ll” form I keep seeing? Is this some form of Yankee trickery, trying to transfigure a celebrated Southern idiom into a nonsensical, Red Neck Comedy Tour inspired tomfoolery? I protest, y’all. I utterly and whole-heartedly protest.

Writing Tip 26: “Quote us on this”

disinterested uninterested writing Punctuation can be a prickly adversary. Add quotation marks into the equation, and some people just close their eyes, hit the keyboard, and let commas and exclamation points land wherever gravity compels them. We propose a more planned approach.

Ending commas and periods are simple* – unless you’re dealing with academic citations, always put them inside the quotation. (“What? That can’t be,” you say? Indeed, though commonly confused, this is the rule. Really. )

Ending question marks and exclamation marks require some thought – is the quotation asking a question or declaring something emphatically, or are you? (“I love grammar!” she bellowed. Did she really say, “I love grammar”?)

Ending semi-colons, colons, dashes, and asterisks are also simple – always put them outside the quotation. (“Wow”; “Wait”; “What’s a semi-colon?”)

*And for those of you who noticed the asterisk, simplicity varies across oceans. We’re discussing American grammar standards here. British rules vary a bit. Questions? Let us know.

Writing Tip 14: (a.k.a. “Keeping up with the Joneseses”)

Apostrophes don't make a family name plural — How many times have you seen this mistake?

No matter how many times you see it monogrammed on invitations, cute beach bags, and graceful signage by the front door, apostrophes never make a family name plural. Never. Retailers sometimes seem convinced of the opposite on this one, but it isn’t true.

Apostrophes should only be used to indicate possession or a contraction. Don’t be one of the many who use them incorrectly, referring to a family as the Jones’ or similar. Add ‘s’ or ‘es’ to refer to a family group, never an apostrophe.

Example 1: Happy New Year from the Smith’s! (Incorrect. Unless this is from the Smith’s dog or pet chinchilla, “Smiths” is the proper form)

Example 2: Happy Nothing Day from the Smiths! (Correct. And who knew there was such a thing as Nothing Day every January 16th?)

Happy Writing!

Writing Tip 12: Overdoing the Ellipsis

Overdoing ellipses You know… I think… we all are using ellipses way too much these days… There’s a diet I can get behind.

Did you know that “…” is called an ellipsis? Did you know that, technically, when you’re removing a few words from a sentence, you should use three periods, and if you’re omitting a full sentence or more from a quotation, you should use four? Or maybe, that’s just for the academics…

My note for you: Keep your ellipses to a minimum. It’s fine for personal correspondence, but don’t… overdo it. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Writing Tip 9: The Comma Wars

Do you put a comma before “and” in a list? Should you? Can you finally correct your persistent coworker/friend/spouse once and for all?

Writing realizations Sadly, no. They’re both correct.

Here’s the difference: The Oxford comma (as in “Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen”) is used by the Oxford University Press and is recommended in the Chicago Manual of Style. Academia and most traditionally published books follow this rule, always inserting a comma before “and” in a list of 3 or more for the sake of clarity. The Associated Press, however, recommends ditching this comma for the sake of space (as in “Dancer, Prancer and Vixen”) only using it when necessary for clarity’s sake (as in “grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and turkey sandwiches”). Following this guideline, newspapers, advertisers, and some websites often skip the Oxford comma.

Deciding when to use it and when not to seems silly to me, so I use the Oxford comma in most situations (see the previous sentence). But really, as long as a writer is consistent in his or her choice, either form is correct.

Questions? Let me know!